Missing
by SuperGroverAway
Summary: A quick tale about a sibling who can't be found, and a trauma that won't leave a certain young girl alone.


Bright, sterile lights. Seemingly endless white hallways. Strange beeps. Mysterious people in strange clothes running back and forth, all in a frantic hurry.

Every single part of this was a whole new world to the little girl, and she didn't like any of it in the slightest. She still didn't understand where she was. All she knew was that this didn't seem to be a very happy place. Worst of all, somewhere lost amongst the countless identical rooms and rushing packs of strangers was her brother. And as far as she could remember, they weren't usually separated like this, if at all.

Mabel squirmed uncomfortably in the hard plastic seat and looked up at her mother. "...Where's Dipper?"

All she received in reply was a gentle hush and a soft pat on the back. Despite her parent's attempts to be comforting, it didn't help in the slightest. The child was only four, but she could tell the difference between genuine and phony assurance, and her mother's body language made it all too clear that something was wrong.

What that was though, she had no idea. Mabel whimpered as she hugged her stuffed tiger closer. All she knew for sure was that Dipper had started off the day complaining loudly over a stomachache. Throughout the day it only got worse and worse, until before she knew it they had all piled into the car and were speeding off. Her brother had cried ceaselessly in pain all the way, no matter how many silly faces she had made to try yo cheer him up.

When they arrived, he was rapidly whisked away, and since then she hadn't seen any sign of him. As her anxiety grew with every passing minute, little girl whined softly and squeezed her toy even harder in a desperate attempt to get at least a shred of comfort from somewhere. Whatever was going on, she hoped that he was okay.

Suddenly, her father reappeared, and Mabel perked up excitedly for a moment. When he saw that he was returning alone, a crushing wave of disappointment washed over her. Even worse, he looked visibly distraught as he approached her mother and they started to speak in whispered tones.

"Where's Dipper?" She piped up again, hoping for a reply. They continued talking worriedly to one another, almost as if she wasn't even there. Her father patted her mother's shoulder as she wiped at her eyes, and the entire scene only unsettled their child even further. Anxiety soon began to turn into fear. Why wouldn't they say anything to her?

"Is…is he gonna be okay?" She squeaked shrilly. Still she received no answer to her repeated inquiries. Her father distractedly reached over to ruffle her soft brown locks, but that was it. It wasn't all that long until it all proved to be too much to bear, especially for a child as hopelessly confused and frightened. There was so much that she wanted to know, and she wanted to know now.

"_Where's Dipper_?!" Mabel slapped a little hand against her chair and yelled impatiently. Finally she grabbed their attention. After they exchanged nervous glances, her mother took a deep breath before she spoke for the what felt like the very first time in an agonizing eternity.

"Sweetie, shhh...you need to be a little more quiet." She stroked the child's head.

"Dipper!" She repeated persistently. "Where is he?"

Her mother bit her life as she tried to handle the inquisitive child.. "Dipper is…he's still not feeling very good, and we...we can't go until they make him better. So we'll just wait here while they take care of them. Okay, honey? It'll be fine."

As she spoke softly, the woman's rapidly welling eyes seemed to tell a frighteningly different story. Fast catching on to the gravity of the situation, Mabel sniffled miserably.

"I...want my..." She managed to whine before the overwhelmed child promptly broke down. A high-pitched wail escaped her as the hot tears started to pour out. Struggling to keep herself together, her mother dragged her daughter into her lap

"Shhh! Shhhhh!" She continued to shush as started to attract looks from staff and patients alike. "It's okay...it's okay honey...it's going to be all right...Dipper just has a...a..."

She looked worriedly to her husband, who tried to plaster on a miserable excuse of a smile as he finished for her. "A really bad tummy ache. He has a bad tummy ache, and so the doctors need to help him right now, okay?"

These hasty reassurance were useless. Twin rivulets continued to gush down the sides of the child's face as she cried. "Where is he? W-where's my brother?"

"Mabel honey, we just told you." Her mother struggled to sound calm, but her voiced cracked uncontrollably, confirming the child's fast-growing fears. Something horrible had happened, and she didn't even know where he was. This was wrong. It was all so wrong.

"What's wrong? Whats wrong with him?!" She nearly shrieked. The increasingly frantic tried to calm the near-hysterical little one.

"It's a tummy ache, sweetie." Her father repeated firmly. "Dipper has a -"

She didn't want to hear any more of this. In a fit of frustration, Mabel flung her toy tiger and hit him square in the chest. "_I WANT DIPPER_!"

"_MABEL_!" her mother yelled as her panic-stricken daughter flung herself free with a mighty burst of effort. The instant her tiny feet hit the tile floor she was off like a shot, and desperately dashing down the hallway.

"Dipper! Dipper!" She screamed into the nearest room, only to find a startled orderly making up a bed. Mabel continued, half-blinded with tears as she frantically searched for her twin. There was so much she didn't understand. She didn't know where she was, where her brother was, or anything about what was happened. All she was sure of was that she wanted her twin back, and to leave this terrible place.

"Dipper? Where are you? Dipper!" Mabel bawled at the top of her lungs as she stumbled about. Unfortunately, before she got too far a stout nurse swept in and scooped her up off the ground.

"I'm sorry!" Her father gasped breathlessly as he caught up. "I'm sorry, she's just a little upset. Mabel, come here-"

Already half mad with panic by this point, Mabel kicked and struggled like a girl possessed in another desperate attempt to break loose as her shrill screams filled the entire hallway. "NO! Where's my brother? Where's Dipper? Where's Dipper? WHERE'S DIPPER?! DIPPER! _DIPPPER_!"

* * *

By the time that the twelve-year-old woke up with a start, her madly beating heart felt just about ready to burst through her ribcage. Surrounded by utter dark, at first she honestly couldn't tell where she was for a few horrifying moments as her vision adjusted at what felt like a painful snail's pace. Total panic continued to hold Mabel tightly in its icy grip for a few horrifying seconds as she tried to get a hold on her self.

Even after recognizing the drafty attic bedroom, the shaken preteen still needed a few moments to convince herself the nightmare was over. As her chest heaved up and down, she touched her face, and to her dismay she felt wet cheeks. If she had indeed been crying in her sleep, then with any luck it hadn't been loud enough to-

"...M-Mabel?" The sleepy groan rang out from the other side of the room and swiftly dashed her hopes. Not again.

As comforting as it was to hear her brother, she also instantly found neck-deep in a flood of embarrassment. It was honestly hard to tell what was worse; a dream of a past trauma, or waking up to realize that you could still bawl like the helpless four-year-old you once were.

Hastily Mabel rolled over in bed to hide her tearstained face.

"Hey…you okay?" Dipper murmured drowsily. He propped himself up on one elbow as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Mabel nibbled on her lip as she struggled for an excuse. Failing to come up with anything decent, she threw out lamely, "I'm...I'm okay, I just had...just had a weird dream with...uh...see, there was a monster and...scary stuff. Uh...yeah."

To say the least, hiding the truth hadn't ever been one of her strengths, and this time was no exception whatsoever. Dipper didn't even need to listen to her actual words. Her husky stutter was all he needed to see through the weak lie as if it were a piece of newly made glass.

"_That_ dream again...right?" he asked bluntly.

Mabel curled into a ball and whined miserably. It was official, she now wished that she was still back in the middle of her nightmare. At least then she wouldn't have to deal with any of the humiliating fallout.

"...Mabel?" Dipper asked softly. She wiped her nose and sat up in bed.

"Sorry." She whimpered apologetically. "I-I'm sorry...It…it just felt weird and real, with the dumb hard chairs, and mom and dad not saying anything, and I...I-I couldn't find...and I thought that..."

The preteen had barely begun to speak about it before the awful memories rose to the forefront of her mind, and despite her best efforts, she soon felt fresh tears welling up in her eyes. With just one bad dream she fell absolutely to pieces, and it was frustrating as could be. It almost made her feel like that helpless little child years ago.

Hurriedly she choked back a sob, flopped onto her bed, grabbed her sheets and threw them up over her head.

"M-Mabel's not here anymore." She whined, hoping fervently that they could just drop it all. "She's in Covertown."

A moment later, she heard the soft pat of bare feet on the floor, and felt a gentle shake. She whined softly and tried to burrow deeper under her improvised cocoon, but Dipper wasn't having any of this. With a sigh, he delicately nudged her again.

"C'mon..."He urged softly around a hefty yawn. "Look...can I at least show you something?"

She relented, and bit by bit, she slowly lowered the bed sheets, and was immediately met with an odd sight. As he stood by her bed, Dipper lifted his shirt, and for a few seconds she just stared confusedly at the scrawny, partly exposed chest until she realized he was pointing at a faint scar.

"Okay, I know things looked bad, but..." He put on a weary smile. "Spoiler alert, they got the appendix out in time."

Mabel couldn't help but crack a feeble grin, which was rapidly followed up by a weak giggle. Sitting up in bed, she wiped away at her relentlessly watering eyes with another loud sniff. "I-I know...I know, it's just...it's stupid, that's what it is...sorry I still act like...l-like such a baby about it..."

Dipper wasn't awake enough to have a long heart-to-heart. However, he was lucid enough to bring up one critical point. With yet another gaping yawn, he leaned in and asked as straightforward as could be, "Hey...do you seriously believe that I wouldn't have lost my mind if I was in your place?"

One moment was all that was needed for it to sink in. With what sounded like a cross between a sob and a hoarse squeak, she reached out and hurled her arms around him in a tight hug. As her mood took a quick upswing, she tightened her squeeze.

"All right, all right." He chuckled as he briefly returned the embrace. "That's enough...that's-_urrk_! Okay...okay, five more seconds..."

"G-glad to have you here." She murmured thankfully, feeling luckier for more reasons than she could count at the moment.

"And I'm glad we can hopefully get back to sleep...right?" He asked hopefully as he broke off from the embrace. Mabel's fidgety pause quickly answered that. Dipper sighed, but nevertheless went about his brotherly duties.

"All right...move over." His sister eagerly did as bid, and barely had he sat down on the bed when she dropped her pillow and head square upon his lap, and none too delicately, either. He successfully held back a low yelp, and after a few moments the two had settled down. Already feeling far better than just a minute prior, she shamelessly cuddled close to her brother, and let out a happy giggle as he began to pat her shoulder and murmur drowsily. His words were like a lullaby, helping his sister drift back into what was guaranteed to be a much more peaceful slumber.

"It's okay...I'm here..." Dipper repeated softly, again and again. "I'm right here, Mabel...I'm right here..."


End file.
